Go Your Own Way
by Jake Nickleby
Summary: "You know that drama kid? He killed himself." That's when I started to believe in the rumor, but didn't accept it. I couldn't accept it. It was impossible to believe.
1. The Introduction, As Told By Troy Bolton

Disclaimer: All characters and events related to _High School Musical_ are owned by First Street Films, Salty Pictures Inc, and Walt Disney Pictures.

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Currently looking for Cover Art commissions.

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Fanfiction originally written on July eighth 2006.

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The Introduction, As Told by Troy Bolton

It seemed like any other ordinary day. My friend Chad Danforth and I would take outside of our first period class (which was science) before school stared. I was so preoccupied about our upcoming game that it didn't occur to me that the warning bell should have rung fifteen minutes ago. Suddenly, this one girl who sits in the very back of my science class (Rachel? Is that her name? I forgot) came up to me.

"Did you hear about the kid who died?" she asked.

I started laughing. I couldn't help it. First of all, she pronounced "died" like "diet", and second of all, I knew she was the gullible type, and Chad told her she shouldn't fall for rumors so easily. Then I continued to talk about the game with Chad. Rachel (or whatever her name was) lightly shoved me on the arm. "I'm not kidding," she said. I was taken back on how much more serious she became. "You know that drama kid?" she continued, "He killed himself."

I paused. "Ryan?"

"Yeah, that's it," she answered. "Ryan Evans. Sharpay's brother?"

I began to look around myself. I realized that a couple of other students were talking about it, but most of them were oblivious to what was really going on, just like Chad and I were ten minutes ago. I glanced down at my watch. School should have started twenty-five minutes ago. I then also realized that I hadn't seen any teachers or other staff members pass down the hall.

That's when I started to believe in the rumor, but didn't accept it. I couldn't accept it. It was impossible to believe.

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Author's Note:

Troy's point of view was taken from my own experience. When I was in eighth grade, a seventh grade girl at my school was murdered by her mother, who also killed the rest of her family before shooting herself.

I was hanging out with a friend before school started. I wasn't really keeping the track of time, but I knew school should had started a little bit ago. I also was looking around for any teachers to come by to open up their classrooms. It made me curious why there were no teachers in sight, but it never worried me.

Then a girl I knew came up to my friend and me and said, "Did you hear about the girl who died?" She really did accidentally pronounce the word "died" like "diet", and my friend was poking fun at her. I laughed, thinking that it was all a rumor, and that girl was gullible enough to believe it.

I felt a little guilty after I found out that it was true, and even though I never knew the girl who died, I was sorrowful of her passing.

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22 August 2007


	2. Piano Confessions

For disclaimer on _High School Musical_, please refer to chapter one.

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Currently looking for Cover Art commissions.

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Chapter One: Piano Confessions

Gabriella Montez walked through the school entrance, making her way down the hall with her books held close to her chest. She did this routinely every weekday morning, although something felt different that day. Possibly the cool hallway was just making her fell a little chilly more than usual. This was nothing unusual, so she continued to stroll down the hall.

What was unusual was seeing a sullen-looking Sharpay Evans walk out of the main office, following the principal, a police officer, and a few staff members, along with other citizens (unrecognizable to Gabriella) following the young blonde female.

The sight had caused Gabriella to stop and stare at the troop marching down the halls. She wanted to all out to Sharpay, but she held back. It probably would not be the best time to talk with her.

"ATTENTION. ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS. FIRST PERIOD WILL BEGIN NOW," Gabriella heard on the P.A. system and hurried off to U.S. History.

First period had only lasted twenty minutes long because school started half an hour late. During those twenty minutes of class, Gabriella overheard fragments of her classmates' conversations. She did not understand what was going on nor was she convinced what she was hearing was true. All she knew what that she needed to see if Sharpay needed- or even wanted- her help.

On her way to second period, Gabriella passed by the small music room, hearing a familiar tune being played on a piano. She opened up the door and poked her head into the room. She saw long blonde locks flowing down the girl's backside. Gabriella waked into the room quickly and quietly as she could, and sat down beside Sharpay on the piano bench. Sharpay did not even look up, trying to listen to her own thoughts.

"Hey," Gabriella said gently.

Sharpay did not answer right away, still concentrating on the piano. She waited a moment or two before asking very softly, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were alright."

Sharpay played another measure and a half before she quickly stopped and turned slightly to face Gabriella. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she snapped. Then, with downcast eyes, she gently said, "I haven't been very civil to you in the past." Gabriella gave a soft genuine smile.

"You look like you could use a friend who is willing to listen to you right about now."

Sharpay stared at her for a second, then turned back to the piano and continued to play. After a few moments without speaking, Sharpay confessed, "My brother is in the hospital." She stopped talking to listen to the ballad she played. She could still see him fresh in her mind, singing and dancing beside her. His voice rung inside her head, clearing than his image.

_I never had someone that knows me like you do…_

She abruptly banged on the piano in frustration, trying so hard not to cry. She wanted to forget about last night's incident. Little by little, it tore her heart whenever she remembered the image of her bother shaking uncontrollably on his bedroom floor. "He overdosed on his medication." Gabriella breathed slowly.

"But… but why would Ryan do that?"

"I don't know! I came home late last night and I found him like that!" Sharpay half-shouted hysterically. She took a few breaths to calm herself down. "Ryan, he's… he's sick. I don't know what made him do it, but…I came into his room, and he was on the floor, and…"

She remembered rushing to his side, shocked and confused. "Ryan? Ryan, cut that out!" she yelled frantically at him.

"And that's when I saw it," she recalled. "I saw the empty bottle next to him. I called the ambulance; he was taken to the hospital… They had to pump his stomach." Gabriella felt tears in her eyes, but managed to hold it in.

"Your parents… where were they all this time?"

"They're both on business. Dad's working in the Silicon Valley. My mom was out of town for a meeting and came home early this morning." Gabriella thought about the crowd that followed Sharpay out of the main office earlier.

"Was your mom here at school today?" Sharpay nodded.

"She's unhappy about all of this, but there's nothing we can do until Ryan gets better. So she went back to work. She thought it would be best if we kept going as if nothing really happened."

The final warning bell rang, signaling the start of second period. "Oh, if you need to go, don't let me keep you." Gabriella nodded and got up from the bench.

"If you need anyone to talk to, you can always come to me." Sharpay smiled for the first time since yesterday.

"Thanks, Gabriella."

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Author's Notes:

Who's that? Oh, it's Ryan.

"And you thought I was dead..." he says.

There are a couple of things I would like to share with you before the next chapter...

1. Since I've prepared several fanfics before opening an account, I planned on submitting one new story/chapter each day. No more, no less... until I run out of new material to post.

2. I also plan to keep the "author's notes" to a minimun, but since I did not post a new chapter yesterday, I think it's only fair that I give you an explaination.

There was construction on the electric lines in my neighborhood yesterday. The electricity at my house was scheduled to be shut off until three-thirty in the afternoon, but ended up being shut off until two-thirty the next morning. So, I apologize for not being able to post the next chapter of the story, as I wished. To make things up to you, I will post not only the next two chapters to make up for yesterday, but I will post the following chapter!

Also, I would like to know how you feel about the story's title. I personally do not feel 100 percent satisfied with the title. Let me know how you like it, or if I should change it to a title that would better fit the story.

Thank you for all of your reviews!

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24 August 2007


	3. I Can't Trust You

For disclaimer on _High School Musical_, please refer to chapter one.

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Currently looking for Cover Art commissions.

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Chapter Two: I Can't Trust You

Sharpay walked into homeroom, wasting no time sitting down in her assigned seat. She heard the low voices of a small group of students socializing behind her. Without even looking, Sharpay could easily visualize them staring at her, even though she tried to ignore them.

"Did you see her face?" Taylor McKessie whispered.

"Boo-hoo!" Jason Cross mocked, pretending to wipe the imaginary tears with his fists.

In one smooth movement, Chad sat down in the desk behind Sharpay, leaning forward, close to her shoulder. "Hey, Ice Queen. You better be careful. If you cry, you'll probably melt." Sharpay gave no acknowledgement that Chad was right behind her, making those idiotic comments. "So where's your lapdog? Were you so sick of him following you around that you put him to sleep?"

Sharpay turned around as quick as lightning. "You know, it's people like you who…" She stopped to take a breath. Her lips pursed together and her eyes narrowed. "Chad. I want you to think. Think of a time you teased someone with the potential of hurting them, physically or mentally." Chad leaned back into his chair casually.

"And what if I can recall this occasion?" Sharpay grabbed her belongings and stood up.

"It could possibly be the trigger that caused my brother to end up in the emergency room." Then she left the room as quickly as she could.

"Sharpay!" she heard a familiar male voice call down the hall as he jogged over to her.

"What do you want, Troy?"

"I'm sorry. Chad shouldn't have said those things." Sharpay brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. Troy could see how sleep-deprived she was though she tried not letting it show by masking it with a sheer amount of makeup. "Have you gotten any sleep lately?"

"A couple of hours in the waiting room, why?"

"Then, Ryan's alive? Someone told me he committed suicide."

Sharpay turned away. "Ryan will be fine."

Troy reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Please tell me what happened."

"Let me go!" Sharpay struggled.

"I just have to know!"

"I can't…"

"Sharpay, you can trust me!"

Sharpay's eyes glazed over. "I can't trust you." She tore her arm away and ran down the hall, away from Troy.

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24 August 2007


	4. More Piano Confessions

For disclaimer on _High School Musical_, please refer to chapter one.

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Currently looking for Cover Art commissions.

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Chapter Three: More Piano Confessions

Gabriella sat down at a cafeteria table to eat her favorite food off the school's menu: chili cheese fries.

"Gabby."

Gabriella looked up and a smile drew instantly on her face. "Troy!"

"Gab, have you seen Sharpay?"

Her smile disappeared and replaced with a face filled with confusion and worry. "I hadn't seen her since she was in the music room this morning. Is something wrong?"

"She was acting funny in homeroom. She took off before you came. You said she was in the music room?"

"Yeah, maybe you could find her there."

"Thanks, Gab. Meet me after school?"

Her smile lit up her face again. "Sure."

When Troy arrived at the music room, her heard someone playing a beautiful ballad on the grand piano. He opened the door. "Sharpay?" A huge clatter echoed in the room and he saw a familiar girl with glasses and honey-brown hair tucked under a huge hat, swimming in a sea of paper. It was Kelsi Nielsen.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, Kels," Troy apologized to his friend, helping her clean the litter of paper off the floor. He picked up a single page to inspect it.

"Is this a new composition for the upcoming show?" Kelsi snatched the page from him.

"Just a side project," she muttered.

"Is that what you were playing on the piano just now?" She nodded, avoiding her gaze to meet his. "It sounded pretty good."

"Uh, thanks."

"Hey, do you know where Sharpay is?"

"I don't know where she is now, but… I think she was here earlier."

"Yeah, that's what Gabby told me- Hey, how did you know that she was here?"

"W-well, you called for her when you came here, didn't you?" She asked uneasily.

Troy raised his eyebrow.

"Okay!" she confessed, "I overheard her talking to Gabriella this morning about her brother's… accident." She became still and quiet for a moment, then began shuffling papers awkwardly.

"Then you know what happened? Please, Kelsi, I've got to know what happened!"

"No, Troy! It's not my place to tell, and it's not any of your business anyway!" Troy looked shocked. He never seen Kelsi act so fierce before. Whatever she heard Sharpay say about Ryan, it really upset her.

"It bothers you, doesn't it? What you heard earlier." He picked up the last paper on the floor and set it on a music stand. At the top of the page read, "Dedicated to Ryan Evans". Kelsi blushed furiously. "I thought you were always afraid of him."

"I used to be intimidated by Sharpay but I've always liked Ryan. He's not as frightening as his sister is."

Troy helped her up from the ground. "Do you think I could hear more of the song?" Kelsi gave a small smile and nodded. She set the pages of music on the piano, sat herself down and began to play. When she finished, Troy applauded her. "This is you best work so far."

"You really think so? Kelsi asked enthusiastically. Then her smile instantly turned into a frown. "Once, just once I want to accompany him on the piano. I ask him every time he makes an audition and every time he says his pianist already cut a recording for him. That's the only time he ever talks to me."

"Well, maybe next time you'll get your chance. You wrote this song especially for him, after all."

The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over.

"You're right, Troy."

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24 August 2007


	5. Sharpay Evans Never Cries

For disclaimer on _High School Musical_, please refer to chapter one.

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Chapter Four: Sharpay Evans Never Cries

School ended nearly fifteen minutes ago- fourteen minutes to be exact. Gabriella was waiting, leaning up against her cold, metal locker. A warm arm slipped around her shoulders, and a pair of lips pecked at her cheek. She turned to see Troy smiling at her. He was thrilled that school was over, and even more thrilled that he did not have basketball practice after school.

"Ready to go?" he asked Gabriella. She nodded, and they strolled down the hall together. They made their way out to the exit at the very back of the school. As they walked towards the rear parking lot, they heard clear, loud sobs coming from around the corner of the building.

Troy and Gabriella both had a good idea who was around that corner. They walked closer to the brick wall until blonde locks were in view. The Evans twin was sitting on two cement steps that led to the door that was inches away from her back. She was hunched over with her Swarovski crystal-encrusted sidekick phone clutched in her right hand, and her face partially buried in her left hand.

Although Troy and Gabriella had expected to see the "ice princess" in this state, it still shocked them to actually see her like this with their own eyes. Sharpay Evans never cries, not in public or in private.

Troy took a step closer to her. Why him, he thought. Of all the people who could have found Sharpay hiding behind the school, he and Gabriella were the ones who discovered where she was. Gabriella thought it was fortunate of them to have been first to find the distressed girl. She figured that no one else would want to help the school's "drama queen" in her time of need. Troy kneeled next to the sobbing blonde. "Sharpay," he whispered.

"I want Ryan," Sharpay said out loud without even glancing at the two teenagers standing beside her. "I want to see my brother." Wiping her tears from her cheeks, she stood up, and tucked her phone inside her purse.

She barely took two steps forward before Troy asked, "Which hospital is he staying in?" Sharpay froze and stared straight at the teenage boy. "We'll give you a ride there." She walked over to East High's basketball captain and buried her face in his shoulder. He felt his shirt began to dampen, and he was perfectly okay with that.

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25 August 2007


	6. Observations

For disclaimer on _High School Musical_, please refer to chapter one.

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Currently looking for Cover Art commissions.

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Chapter Five: Observations

The uncomfortable, silent ride to the hospital seemed like hour's worth of driving. Troy drove Sharpay in his father's red pick-up truck, while Gabriella sat opposite of him. As he pulled into the parking lot, he nearly sighed in relief. Once the truck was in park, he stepped out and took in a deep breath. Exhaling heavily, he turned to help Sharpay and Gabriella out of the car.

Walking through the automatic sliding doors, Troy and Gabriella stood on either side of Sharpay, holding her sweaty hands firmly. Sharpay's face flushed and her breath became a little shaky. As they approached Ryan's room, Sharpay nearly fainted and collapsed into Gabriella's arms. Gabriella told Troy to go ahead and visit Ryan while she took Sharpay to the cafeteria they had just passed.

Troy nodded and turned to enter the room, a little scared by what he was about to see. He turned the handle and stepped into the room. A small gasp escaped from his lips and his heart pounded painfully in his chest. Sharpay's twin slept peacefully in his bed, slowly and steadily breathing, barely making a sound. Troy pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down, taking the time to observe his friend, or at least he hoped he could be friends with Ryan.

Troy started with his hands. The skin on the blonde's hands looked so smooth and soft to touch. His eyes traveled to Ryan's wrists. Faint scars littered his forearms. The athlete's eyes made a trail from the pale arms, to hospital gown-clad chest, to his face. Harsh bruises scattered around the boy's cheeks and eyes.

Troy felt a pang of guilt inside his heart. Has his friends done this to Ryan? He felt so blind. Everything in his life seemed so perfect. He had awesome friends, great parents, and popularity. How could he have thought that there was no one at his high school being harassed? How could he have thought that everyone had perfect lives, just because he had a perfect life?

He sat in his chair, thinking, for a good twenty-five minutes before he realized Ryan had woken up. The Evans twin appeared dazed; a freshly woken rosy glow crept on his cheeks. He stared in the distance, acting as if he had not noticed Troy sitting right next to him.

"Hey," the playmaker said softly. Ryan made no acknowledgement.

"Are you… feeling any better?" No response.

After a long period of silence, the shaggy brown-haired teen heard the words "What do you want from me, Bolton?" escape from Ryan's candy pink lips.

"I just came to see-"

"If this is some sort of sick, cruel joke, then you are sadly mistaken. Leave. Now."

"Ryan, I just wanted-"

"What, Bolton? What could you possibly want from me?"

"The truth."

Ryan's gaze shifted away from Troy. Why should he tell anyone about his personal life?

"Look," he heard the other teen say; "I only came to help Sharpay out. I gave her a ride over here… She's in the cafeteria with Gabriella now." Troy decided not to mention that she had nearly fainted. He figured it was unnecessary to have the blonde worry about it now.

Ryan looked out the window and took a deep breath. He did not know why he was about to open up to Troy Bolton, the most popular student at East High School.

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26 August 2007


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